The Great Sea Reef of Fiji from the AIR

The Great Sea Reef of Fiji from the AIR

16 December 2013 – Great Sea Reef

Before our Great Sea Reef expedition started, we were asked by Patricia Mallam of WWF South Pacific what we wanted to photograph. #1 on our list was the most complicated, and I thought, better blurt it out now and hope for the best. I told Patricia we wanted to do aerials. In fact, I told her we must do aerials to be able to see what the Southern Hemisphere’s third longest barrier reef looks like. That was in March 2013. Fast forward to December 2013 – aerial funding secured, we were back in Fiji.

Patricia, Stella and Yogi with the Robinson 44.

Having just arrived in Nadi early morning Dec 16 after a red-eye flight from Australia, we had to do our aerials that very day as the week’s weather forecast was not looking good. Patricia and our young Kiwi pilot were ready for us and off we went on our six hour helicopter blitz through the Great Sea Reef in a Robinson 44 – without the back doors of course, for best photography. Slightly jet-lagged with hardly any sleep, we thought: “OK, let’s do it!”

Stella’s bad hair day. With back doors taken off, it sure was windy up high in the air. Oh, and my flapping collar sure hurt my face! 6 hours of this was a bit of a torture!

For six hours my hair was painfully all over the place. For the first time ever, I envied Yogi’s bald head…

Oh but what a sight! The Fijian Islands of the South Pacific did not disappoint. It was, in fact, totally spectacular from beginning to end. We took nothing for granted. We knew it was a special privilege to do this aerial – to be one of the few people to see the GSR from the air.

Here’s a glimpse of the Southern Hemisphere’s third longest barrier reef from the air.

Nacula Island. The Great Sea Reef from the Yasawa Group of Islands.

And what are the chances we’d see coral spawning slick from the air???!

Scattered small reefs with very possible coral spawn on the water’s surface.

Every year, coral spawning in Fiji occurs during the full moon night in November or December. The date of this aerial, Dec 16, was the day before full moon and we’re making an educated guess the corals spawned 2 nights before the December full moon. We only saw the slick where there were corals nearby. The coral spawn slick was metres wide and kilometres upon kilometres long along the Yasawa Group of Islands.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef coral spawning occurs 4-5 days after the full moon. Here below is a picture of the night we dived the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns at 9pm on the 4th of November 2012. I’d love to have seen coral spawning underwater in Fiji’s Great Sea Reef but seeing the slick from the air was pretty awesome enough! An unexpected treat!

Staghorn coral (Acropora sp.) spawning in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef during the annual ‘mass’ coral spawning event, 4 to 5 days after the full moon in November in the Great Barrier Reef where many colonies and species of coral polyps simultaneously release egg and sperm bundles for external fertilisation.

Before we started our flight, with a map at the ready, Patricia identified the ideal flight path to determine which areas of the Great Sea Reef we must pass and photograph. Among the list of “must see” is this elongated, slightly sunken reef that is rumoured to exist past the northern tip of the Yasawa. This phantom reef has never been seen before or even detected by the amazing satellite images of Google Earth. Like a treasure hunt, or more looking for a needle in a hay stack, our pilot persevered and found it!

Patricia Mallam checking the map to look for the general direction of the Yasawa hidden reef.

And it was a jewel to behold.

Sunken reef near the northern tip of the Yasawa Islands is the passage way to the channel where whales pass through to migrate south.

The Great Sea Reef!

A wombat-like looking reef!

After the newfound reef, we headed for Yadua Island. It was so beautiful from the air! To think exactly on this same day the year before, a category 5 Cyclone Evan devastated Yadua Village. It is hard to imagine this catastrophe when the sun is shining, the calm waters are turquoise blue and the island is looking magnificent!

Aerial of Yadua Village and the new Cyclone Evan Rehabilitation Housing Project.

What a discovery! An ancient fish trap at the opposite side of the present village of Yadua Island.

We had to refuel in Savusavu and flew across some stunning mountain ranges of Vanua Levu. But here and there, the scars of progress jarred the senses like this mining or logging road to some bauxite hill or another.

Aerial of the mountainous range of the Northern Division with a dirt road cutting through it.

At some point our pilot went head on in the clouds towards this steep mountain wall that made me exclaim “mountains ahoy!”

By about 5pm, I was exhausted. I fell asleep with the wind still blowing on my face, hair and everywhere. Our pilot said it’s a first for him to have a client fall asleep on a flight – especially with open doors!

I’m not sure if it’s obvious but here’s a stunning picture of the open sea with the sun low in the horizon reflecting water ripples. A fishing boat is zipping below like a tiny spec of dirt.

Aerial of a fishing boat in the middle of the sea catching fish with a pole and line.

Zooming in shows 5 pole and line fishermen and their fish! Amazing how modern digital cameras pick up everything!

Finally near Nadi as I feel our hotel’s bed beckon me to sleep, a last pretty picture of the mangroves of the Ba Province, Western Division Viti Levu.

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Stella was born in Manila, Philippines in 1965. She studied anthropology but ended up in advertising, producing radio and TV commercials for 7 years. After quitting advertising, she ventured into the freelance world in Manila producing video documentaries for a publishing house, government agencies, non govenmental organisations, and the academe. She moved on to producing books and had a stint at working with foreign production companies visiting Manila. Stella, now based in Cairns, produces photo stories with her husband Jürgen Freund.

Testimonials

“The JCU Nature Photography Masterclass was a wonderful (indeed sublime) experience – a direct result of the effort that Juergen & Stella put into the preparation. Juergen & Stella were the perfect team to lead the Masterclass. Between the two they have just the right blend of enthusiasm, willingness to teach, organisational ability, drive, sense of humour and generosity of spirit. They demonstrated energy and passion during the week with Juergen imparting very generously the technical photogra…

Bruce Terry – Sydney, NSW

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Annette Corsi – Innisfail, QLD

“Juergen Freund is a master at his craft and he tailored his response carefully to each of the participant’s personal skills. He never became impatient even with questions that to him must have appeared inane. I personally benefited greatly from his instruction. I would also like to emphasise that Stella was also a pillar of strength and she contributed greatly to the overall success of the program.”

Robert Prettejohn – Cairns, QLD

“I took Yogi’s photo class with a bunch of friends and family of various different skill levels. Yogi has a lovely, gentle approach to teaching with no ego or B.S. Everyone in the course got something awesome out of it and it was a heap of fun playing with all his toys and gadgets. He was great at explaining complex stuff and made sure no one got left behind.”

Dave Mainwaring – Port Douglas, QLD

“It was exciting, refreshing, educational, inspiring and quite entertaining. Juergen’s extraordinary experience made the long days, not long enough for everyone. I have been a photographer for years at a professional level. And as an amateur, I highly recommend this Masterclass.”

Jorge Martins – Cairns, QLD

“This was far and away the best in-the-field photo course I’ve done: dedicated, well prepared instructors and organisers with a great sense of humour whose approach showed real interest in us as individuals, and the group responded accordingly. I’d have no hesitation in recommending others to participate.”

Carol Hall – Ballarat, VIC

“I was inspired to take pictures and to improve my eye for capturing a special moment in nature… The course is so well planned to provide opportunities for that special picture in that special place, and each day we were challenged to apply new techniques to get the shot. Unforgettable and such solid step in my learning experience.”

Chico Birrell – Brisbane, QLD

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Dennis Tannenbaum – Perth, WA

“This masterclass was absolutely brilliant and it was obvious that a great deal of planning and preparation had been done prior to the course, making it run extremely smoothly. The locations were amazing with great opportunities for photographing a huge range of wildlife. The skills I developed over the duration of this course have improved my photography immensely. Yogi and Stella are warm friendly people with great patience and knowledge. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and was sorry when i…

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